Her talent roster includes D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Adam Pally, Ed Weeks, Zarna Garg, Brandon Kyle Goodman and Fiona Dourif.

South Korea will withdraw more staff from its embassy in Kyiv, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Park Doo-soon said on 20 October. Seoul says Kyiv broke an understanding to keep the transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war confidential, which was meant to protect the soldiers and their families in the North. Seoul had conveyed its position through several channels but received no sufficient response from Kyiv, Park added.

The Korea Herald noted, the move comes amid a dispute with the host government itself. That matters beyond the two countries. Good ties with Kyiv serve South Korea’s interests, AP reported earlier this month, citing experts, because Ukraine could share intelligence on North Korea’s expanding cooperation with Russia and its battlefield experience.

Seoul shrinks its Kyiv mission

Officials put the planned withdrawal at about half the embassy’s staff. The Korea Herald added that the timing has yet to be set. A chargé d’affaires and all consular staff will stay in Kyiv to keep diplomatic contacts and protect South Korean citizens.

Zelenskyy told the UN General Assembly in September that Ukraine had transferred two captured North Korean soldiers to South Korea. Ukrainian forces had captured both men in Russia’s Kursk Oblast in January 2025, where Pyongyang had sent troops to fight for Moscow.

On 6 October, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said Sybiha’s messages included words of apology but fell short of what Seoul expected. Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi replied that Sybiha had written he regretted the situation reaching an exchange of critical comments.

In an interview published on 12 October, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha told the dispute stemmed from differing readings of confidentiality at various stages of the transfer. He considers the matter closed. “Ukraine fulfilled all its obligations.”

Guilfoyle is small potatoes.

From October 19 to 23, the world gathers in Rome for the 54th session of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS)*—a global platform dedicated to combating hunger and malnutrition, and to upholding the right to food. Discussions will focus on food security, coordinated responses to food crises, and sustainable food systems. The agenda will […]

Kim Yo-jong, irmã do líder da Coreia do Norte, Kim Jong-un, afirmou que o exército sul-coreano transmitiu 998 mensagens provocadoras através de altifalantes e efetuou 91 disparos de advertência.

© JEON HEON-KYUN/EPA

Nine-year-old Ukrainian Anastasiia Kovtun won a silver medal at the international Romanian Junior Open 2026 tournament, held on October 16–18 in Bucharest. For the young athlete, it was the first international tournament of her career. Overall, Ukrainian squash players demonstrated strong results, winning in five age categories.

The competition took place at the Infinity Sport Arena sports complex under the auspices of the European Squash Federation (ESF). Romanian Junior Open is part of the international ESF Junior Circuit series and has Bronze status.

One of the main stories of the Ukrainian team’s performance was the success of 9-year-old Anastasiia Kovtun in the youngest age category, Girls U11.

Despite the competition in Bucharest marking Nastia’s debut at international level, she confidently advanced through the group stage. The Ukrainian successively defeated Romania’s Anna Oltean 3:0 (11:4, 11:9, 11:9), as well as two Bulgarian athletes — Ema Taneva 3:0 (11:3, 11:5, 11:5) and Gabriela Zarova 3:0 (11:8, 11:2, 11:2).

In the decisive match for the gold medal, Anastasiia faced another Ukrainian, Oleksandra Sinielnikova, who has considerable experience competing in international and Polish junior tournaments. The final ended with Sinielnikova winning 3:0 (11:3, 11:5, 11:5).

Thus, Oleksandra Sinielnikova became the Romanian Junior Open 2026 champion among girls under 11, while Anastasiia Kovtun claimed a silver medal at her very first international tournament.

Five gold medals for Ukrainian athletes

Other Ukrainian participants also performed successfully. Among boys under 11, another all-Ukrainian final took place.

Artem Kostiukov and Mark Hrabovskyi competed for the championship title. Both athletes won their groups, each recording three victories.

In the group stage, Kostiukov defeated two representatives of Romania and an athlete from Israel, while Hrabovskyi beat two Romanian squash players and a representative of Bulgaria. In the final, Artem Kostiukov emerged victorious 3:1 (11:7, 11:6, 7:11, 11:8).

It is worth noting that Artem Kostiukov continues his family’s sporting traditions.

His mother is the well-known Ukrainian squash player Anastasiia Kostiukova, a Ukrainian champion and multiple winner of national competitions, including the 2023 Ukrainian Cup.

In 2022, she became the first Ukrainian woman to win a squash match at the World Games and also took silver at the international PSA Saarland Squash Open tournament.

In the Girls U13 category, Varvara Sinielnikova took first place, demonstrating confident play throughout the tournament.

Viktoriia Syvoplias brought Ukraine another gold medal in the Girls U19 category. In the final, she defeated Bulgaria’s Emma Peteva in a tense five-game contest — 3:2 (7:11, 11:9, 11:5, 8:11, 11:8).

Nestor Saplashenko secured another victory for Ukraine in the Boys U15 category. In the final, he defeated Greece’s Konstantinos Christos Papatheodorou 3:1 (11:8, 11:7, 7:11, 11:9).

Ukrainian Oleksandra Orlenko also competed in the Girls U19 category, finishing the tournament in seventh place.

Ukrainian juniors confirm their high level on the European stage

At Romanian Junior Open 2026, Ukrainian athletes won five gold medals in the Girls U11, Girls U13, Girls U19, Boys U11 and Boys U15 categories.

Ukrainian juniors confirm their high level on the European stage

At Romanian Junior Open 2026, Ukrainian athletes won five gold medals in the Girls U11, Girls U13, Girls U19, Boys U11 and Boys U15 categories.

In addition, Ukrainians also claimed two silver medals thanks to the performances of Anastasiia Kovtun and Mark Hrabovskyi.

In addition, Ukrainians claimed two silver medals thanks to the performances of Anastasiia Kovtun and Mark Hrabovskyi.

For nine-year-old Anastasiia Kovtun, the silver medal in Bucharest marked an important first step in her international sporting career.

Already in her debut appearance, she managed to become one of the medalists at an official European tournament.

Earlier this month, South Korea blamed North Korea-planted mines for the Sept. 21 blasts at the border, urging the North to apologize and remove other mines.

During Beirut visit, Aoun and French FM discuss post-UNIFIL security arrangement; Lebanon says next round of talks with Israel to be held Tuesday in Florida

The second energy crisis in less than five years — both triggered by wars, first in Ukraine and then in the Middle East — is dismantling resistance to a shift away from fossil fuels. Month by month the debate over electrification gains momentum: powering economic sectors that still rely on coal, oil, and gas with electricity. If there were few arguments left —environmental, economic, and strategic autonomy — in favor of a rapid electrification, gasoline and diesel prices in Europe have delivered the final blow.

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© ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH (EFE)

Argentina’s delegation at the United Nations abstained from a resolution aimed at eradicating modern forms of colonialism, siding with the Trump administration and undercutting President Javier Milei’s recent demands over the British-occupied Malvinas Islands.

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The vote took place in the Fourth Committee of the General Assembly. The measure, presented by the Russian Federation, sought to ratify and reinforce the goals of Resolution 1514, the landmark text approved in 1960 that declared colonialism incompatible with the UN Charter and fundamental human rights.

Argentina’s diplomatic delegation chose to stand aside rather than endorse the initiative. The move placed the Milei government in line with the position promoted by the White House, which pressed allied governments to abstain.

RELATED: Argentine President Milei Toughens Malvinas Claim at UNGA

The resolution passed anyway. Delegates recorded 85 votes in favor, 49 against and 23 abstentions, sending the text to the full General Assembly for consideration.

The alignment extended beyond Buenos Aires and Washington. Chile, Costa Rica, Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, Peru and Paraguay joined the abstention, a bloc of right-leaning regional governments that followed the U.S. lead.

On the other side, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa and India voted in favor. Their support reaffirmed the global backing for territorial integrity and decolonization processes, and set up a sharp divide within Latin America itself.

The Russian draft went further than the 1960 declaration. It extended the concept of colonialism to cover unilateral coercive measures and the economic and financial sanctions promoted by Washington around the world, a provision that made the vote a direct test of alignment.

The UN General Assembly’s Fourth Committee approved the draft resolution “Addressing contemporary forms of colonialism” by 85 votes in favour, 49 against, with 23 abstentions. Sponsored by Russia, China, Iran, Cuba, Belarus, Palestine and others, it recognizes colonialism in… pic.twitter.com/MqgQfoMhME

— Digital Debate (@digdebate) October 16, 2026

Malvinas Contradiction Deepens

The abstention collides with the rhetoric Milei has used on Malvinas, the archipelago occupied by Britain since 1833. His government has campaigned publicly for the defense of sovereignty and demanded sanctions against oil companies operating on that Argentine soil.

The contrast sharpened in September, when the Argentine President addressed the General Assembly. There he read extended passages demanding the eradication of colonialism and stated plainly that the principle of self-determination “exists to liberate colonized peoples, not to enshrine situations derived from colonization.”

Those words sit uneasily with the vote his own diplomats just cast, or chose not to cast. The abstention, in effect, withheld support from a document that echoes the very argument Milei delivered from the rostrum.

The domestic reaction was immediate. Carlos Bianco, the government minister for Buenos Aires province, called the abstention an irresponsible act against a historic national cause. “The Malvinas question deserves a diplomacy that does not kneel. Abstaining in the face of colonialism is not just an embarrassment, it constitutes an act of irresponsibility. The Malvinas question must once again be defined by Argentines. And it will be,” Bianco wrote on social media.

The episode exposes a tension running through the Milei administration’s foreign policy. It has embraced Washington as its principal ally while maintaining, at least in public speeches, a sovereignty claim that Washington’s abstention strategy directly undercuts.

Milei dice que quiere recuperar Malvinas. En la ONU, la Argentina se abstuvo de votar contra el colonialismo.
Hace dos semanas, esa misma delegación decía que Malvinas es una situación colonial.
Sobran las contradicciones. No tienen política exterior propia y desprecian al país… pic.twitter.com/I5cYaXCbvp

— Francisco Cafiero (@FranCafiero) October 16, 2026

Text reads: “Milei says he wants to take back Malvinas. At the UN, Argentina abstained from voting against colonialism. Two weeks ago, that same delegation said that Malvinas are a colonial situation. The contradictions abound. They have no foreign policy of their own and despise the country they govern.”

Argentina’s historic position on Malvinas has long drawn broad support across Latin America and the developing world, precisely the coalition that voted in favor of the resolution Buenos Aires declined to endorse.

The measure now moves to the plenary, where the same fault lines are likely to reappear. What Argentina does there will reveal whether the abstention was an isolated calculation or a settled posture. For now, the vote leaves a record that is hard to reconcile: a government that speaks of liberating colonized peoples, yet declines to vote for a resolution doing exactly that.

Doha also says it will help rehabilitate struggling electricity sector; Trump plan to restart direct US flights with Beirut faces problems

North Korea’s recent underwater launch of strategic cruise missiles underscores its accelerating drive to field a survivable, sea-based nuclear deterrent, even as significant engineering hurdles and platform limitations continue to constrain its naval ambitions. North Korea test-fired two types of submarine-launched strategic cruise missiles into the Sea of Japan, marking its first public underwater cruise […]

The post What do North Korea’s sub missile tests really prove? appeared first on Asia Times.

O Instituto Justina realiza a oficina gratuita “Palavras Necessárias” com a dramaturga boliviana Claudia Eid Asbún neste sábado (17/10), das 14h às 18h. O espetáculo “1888” será apresentado gratuitamente nos dias 22, 23 e 24 de outubro, em três espaços culturais de Aparecida de Goiânia.

O espetáculo “1888” será apresentado gratuitamente nos dias 22, 23 e 24 de outubro, em três espaços culturais de Aparecida de Goiânia. Com atuação e dramaturgia da atriz goiana Takaiúna e direção da dramaturga boliviana Claudia Eid Asbún, a circulação integra o projeto Temporada 1888 – Dramaturgia Afro-Latinoamericana.

No dia 17 de outubro, sábado, das 14h às 18h, o Instituto Justina oferece a oficina gratuita Palavras Necessárias, ministrada por Claudia Eid, na sede do instituto. A iniciativa contempla ainda a publicação da dramaturgia em livro, com distribuição gratuita. O projeto foi aprovado pelo Fundo de Arte e Cultura de Goiás (FAC-GO), por meio do Edital Cultura Negra e Periférica de Goiás – Tradição, Arte e Identidade.

Mais do que revisitar o ano que dá nome ao espetáculo, “1888” lança um olhar sobre aquilo que a abolição formal da escravidão não foi capaz de encerrar. A montagem parte de memórias afro-brasileiras e latino-americanas para investigar a permanência das estruturas escravocratas, as violências que atravessam a existência de mulheres negras e as formas de resistência preservadas pela ancestralidade.

No centro da narrativa está Justina, uma mulher negra e curandeira que vive no Brasil de 1888. Entre ervas, rezas, lembranças e silêncios, a personagem carrega experiências que ultrapassam sua própria existência. Em cena, Justina conversa com um bebê sobre a vida e a liberdade. A música, a dança e a presença física da atriz conduzem uma narrativa em que o tempo deixa de obedecer à cronologia.

Criado em 2022, o espetáculo nasceu de um processo de formação e investigação dramatúrgica desenvolvido por Takaiúna em parceria com Claudia Eid Asbún. Durante a pesquisa, Takaiúna desenvolveu o conceito de “elementos-pontes”, expressão utilizada para identificar elementos cênicos que compartilham uma cosmologia comum em diferentes territórios da América Latina. O trabalho já circulou por festivais, universidades, Pontos de Cultura e espaços culturais comunitários da América Latina e do continente africano.

A presença de Claudia Eid Asbún em Aparecida de Goiânia vai além da direção do espetáculo. A oficina Palavras Necessárias propõe uma investigação sobre os caminhos da escrita para o teatro. A atividade parte das estruturas clássicas da dramaturgia e avança em direção a formas contemporâneas de construir narrativas. Um dos pontos centrais é a identificação dos chamados detonadores criativos: experiências, percepções e inquietações pessoais capazes de impulsionar a criação artística.

Dramaturga, diretora, atriz e jornalista, Claudia Eid Asbún está à frente da companhia independente El Masticadero, fundada em 2005, na Bolívia. Também dirige a Oficina Permanente de Teatro da Universidade Privada Boliviana (UPB), em Cochabamba. Sua produção dramatúrgica integra publicações na Bolívia, Espanha, Argentina e Cuba.

Outro desdobramento da temporada é a publicação de “1888” em formato de livro, que será distribuído gratuitamente a escolas, bibliotecas e Pontos de Cultura. A iniciativa amplia o alcance do projeto ao permitir que a dramaturgia continue circulando para além das apresentações.

A escolha dos espaços que recebem a temporada está diretamente relacionada à trajetória do Instituto Justina, organização sediada em Aparecida de Goiânia que desenvolve, desde 2015, atividades de formação, pesquisa, intercâmbio e circulação artística. Reconhecido como Ponto de Cultura em 2019, o Instituto teve sua metodologia “Dramaturgias Emergentes” reconhecida como Tecnologia Social pelo Banco Ibero-americano de Saberes, em 2022. Em 2026, passou à condição de Pontão de Cultura.

Oficina gratuita: 17 de outubro (sábado), das 14h às 18h, na sede do Instituto Justina. Apresentações gratuitas: 22 de outubro (quinta-feira), às 19h30, na sede do Instituto Justina; 23 de outubro (sexta-feira), às 14h, no CENFI; 24 de outubro (sábado), às 19h30, no Ponto de Cultura Rosa dos Ventos. Classificação indicativa: 18 anos.

The post Instituto Justina realiza oficina e apresenta espetáculo 1888 appeared first on Diário da Manhã - O Jornal do leitor Inteligente.

Ukraine’s six-wheeled Frodo ground robot fired on targets during a demonstration in Kharkiv Oblast for the Pomsta (Revenge) Border Guard Brigade, a border guard detachment posted on Facebook. Frodo made its public debut only on 30 September.

Ukraine had contracted more than 22,000 ground robots for 2026 by July, mostly logistics carriers, with combat models the smallest group, the Defense Ministry said. Frodo’s first reported mission was an evacuation. The demo shows its armed version to a fighting brigade, the kind of robot Ukraine has ordered least.

What the armed version carries

The platform completed its tasks at a training ground in near-combat conditions, said the 3rd Border Guard Detachment named after Hero of Ukraine Colonel Yevhenii Pikus. The Buria turret mounted on Frodo can fire either a Mk 19 automatic grenade launcher or a Browning M2 heavy machine gun. It engaged targets at up to 1.3 km (0.8 mile), the detachment said.

The 47-kg (104-lb) module has a ballistic calculator, stores up to 256 targets, aims in three seconds, and has a stated autonomous run time of up to 48 hours, the post said. Frodo is rated for up to 150 km (93 miles) on paved roads and 75–80 km (47–50 miles) over rough terrain, the post added. A Frontline Robotics Zoom reconnaissance drone flew reconnaissance during the test.

The developer, Frontline Robotics, describes its core philosophy as arriving fast, doing the job, and leaving very fast—hit and run, the detachment’s post said. Familiarizing the brigade’s soldiers with such systems aims first and foremost to preserve personnel’s lives and health, the detachment said.

A robot first reported as a medevac

Frontline Robotics told Militarnyi at the unveiling that Frodo had passed Defense Ministry codification and was built for logistics, evacuation, and strike missions. The robot reaches 40 km/h (25 mph) and carries up to 200 kg (441 lb) of payload, or 400 kg (882 lb) at most, the company said. A single soldier can swap its batteries.

The 92nd Assault Brigade used an early test unit to evacuate a wounded soldier, Frontline Robotics told Militarnyi. An operator, callsign Tango, named the robot’s speed and its ability to handle complex maneuvers as its main advantages, Militarnyi reported.

President Laura Fernández of Costa Rica on Wednesday inaugurated the so-called High-Containment Center Against Organized Crime (CACCO), a mega-prison designed to hold 5,100 inmates under maximum-security conditions with the aim of isolating narcotics-trafficking gangs. The Costa Rican government seeks with this move to consolidate its tough-on-crime policy, the centerpiece of propaganda amid the security crisis, which is symbolized by the enormous penal complex modeled on Nayib Bukele’s approach.

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© Mayela Lopez (REUTERS)

In barely a day, hurricane Polo, which formed in late September in the Pacific off the coast of Mexico, reached the highest category — level 5, corresponding to winds above 252 kilometers (156 mph) per hour. It was the second most powerful tropical cyclone recorded in the Pacific to date. Polo later weakened before making landfall as a storm — at category 2 — in Baja California Sur, Mexico. It left behind torrential rains, floods and infrastructure damage in northwest Mexico and the southwestern United States, and five deaths linked to those floods in Mexico.

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© Daniel Sánchez (EFE)

UNIFIL mandate set to end in December after nearly 50 years, prompting concern from Lebanese officials who warn withdrawal will create 'vacuum' and harm regional security

Ukraine has been elected to the UN Human Rights Council for the 2027–2029 term, receiving support from 162 UN member states in a vote by the UN General Assembly on 13 October, Ukraine’s Permanent Mission to the UN said.

The three-year term gives Ukraine an opportunity to shape international human rights discussions while drawing attention to abuses stemming from Russia’s war. Kyiv says it will work with partners to strengthen accountability mechanisms and protect civilians affected by conflict.

Ukraine’s Permanent Mission to the UN called the result a major diplomatic achievement, saying its team had spent more than a year securing support for the candidacy.

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Kyiv would use its membership to push for accountability for Russian human rights violations, support international investigations, and advocate for prisoners of war and civilians unlawfully detained by Russia.

Ukraine will also continue efforts to secure the return of Ukrainian children deported or forcibly transferred by Russia, Sybiha said.

Ukraine to focus on accountability for Russian violations

Ukraine’s election comes as Russia continues its full-scale war against the country, which has brought grave violations of human rights and international humanitarian law consistently since 2022.

As a council member, Ukraine plans to work with international partners to strengthen mechanisms for documenting and investigating abuses, protect human dignity, and reinforce international human rights institutions, Sybiha said.

Ukraine has been elected to the UN Human Rights Council for 2027-2029. I thank all UN Member States that supported Ukraine’s candidacy.

Ukraine joins the Council while continuing to defend its people and its sovereignty against Russia’s ongoing aggression, which has brought…

— Andrii Sybiha (@andrii_sybiha) October 13, 2026

Ukraine is returning to the council after previously serving multiple terms, most recently from 2021 to 2023. It was among the council’s founding members when the body was established in 2006.

Russia was suspended from the UN Human Rights Council in April 2022 following reports of gross and systematic human rights violations during its war against Ukraine. Moscow subsequently announced it was withdrawing from the council.

15 countries elected to the council

Alongside Ukraine, the General Assembly elected Brazil, Ghana, the Dominican Republic, Zambia, Ireland, Jordan, Kuwait, Moldova, Nepal, Nigeria, Germany, Uruguay, and Japan to the Human Rights Council.

The 47-member council is the UN’s principal intergovernmental body responsible for promoting and protecting human rights worldwide. Members serve three-year terms.

Sacrifice the inconvenient, never the project. “Pal-washing” in action.

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Contact us: info@strategic-culture.su

A familiar script

On 9 October 2026, the Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the Peace Prize to Navanethem Pillay, an 85-year-old South African jurist, former judge at the International Criminal Court and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. The citation speaks of a person who has paved the way for a more comprehensive global legal order. The Committee’s chair, Jorgen Watne Frydnes, added that the prize is a message to those who attack and undermine the international system and its institutions. The verdict is avowedly political, and it is on this level that it must be discussed.

The very same figure who, in 2011, is said to have ‘toppled’ Gaddafi, paving the way for the plundering of Libyan oil and the enslavement of African migrants, would now ‘topple’ Netanyahu, thereby paving the way for Israel’s rehabilitation. The underlying logic would be neither morality nor peace, but the agenda of George Soros’s Open Society: to sacrifice those who have become inconvenient, never the essence of the project itself. Some have dubbed it ‘pal-washing’. The fundamental question is a serious one, for it asks whether there is a pattern behind the prizes and jurisdictions of the liberal order.

It must be emphasised that the script is already familiar. Do you remember when Barack Obama received the Nobel Peace Prize, whilst launching war after war? Or do you recall figures in search of a cause such as Machado, Mohammadi, or the defenders of Ukrainian criminals? But let us proceed in order.

Act One: Libya

In February 2011, Pillay, the High Commissioner, called on the Human Rights Council to take vigorous action to stop the violence and hold those responsible to account; the Council condemned the violations and established a commission of inquiry. The next step fell to the Security Council: referral to the ICC via Resolution 1970, followed by Resolution 1973, approved with ten votes in favour and five abstentions (Brazil, China, Germany, India, Russia). No one claims that Pillay decided to go to war. What matters is the sequence of events: the language of human rights opened the door, that of the protection of civilians authorised the use of force, and the operation gradually shifted towards regime change. As early as April, Lavrov was accusing NATO of exceeding its mandate, and a French minister admitted that regime change would have required a new vote.

Then there are the costs. In 2017, the IOM documented auctions of sub-Saharan migrants in southern Libya, sold for sums ranging from 200 to 500 dollars. The link with the collapse of the state after 2011 is the most plausible interpretation, although the source documents the phenomenon rather than its cause. Libya and the migrants paid the price; the legal framework emerged, formally speaking, intact, even if the controversy over the mandate would later weigh on the vetoes of Moscow and Beijing in other matters.

Act Two: Bibi

On 21 November 2024, Pre-Trial Chamber I of the ICC issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Gallant, for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Pillay had left the Court in 2008, but chaired the UN Commission of Inquiry which, on 16 September 2025, concluded that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza. This is where ‘pal-washing’ comes into play. International criminal law deals with individuals: a defendant, a charge, a period of time. If the case concludes with the fate of a leader, a narrative break occurs – the ‘before’ and ‘after’ of a man – after which the state can present itself as restored. Libya offers an analogy: there, the case concluded with the fall of a man.

The limitations of the process work in favour of this interpretation. The Court has no police force and the execution of warrants depends on the States Parties; the Commission is not a court and does not speak on behalf of the entire UN; the Committee itself, according to AFP, has stated that it is up to a court to determine whether genocide has taken place. The award has no legal effect, as we know, but it lends legitimacy to a system that promises justice yet cannot guarantee it.

We must also bear in mind that we have already seen dynamics of this kind on numerous occasions within the globalist order that dominates the West. The Open Society Foundations presents itself as the world’s largest private funder of groups working for justice, democracy and human rights, active in over one hundred countries, and Pillay received the Stockholm Human Rights Award, the same prize that went to Soros and Neier in 2011. It certainly seems that the pattern of the Soros agenda is repeating itself once again – an agenda comprising foundations, NGOs, tribunals, commissions and bureaucracies that share a common lexicon and worldview: that of a liberal order to be perfected and never called into question. Those operating within that lexicon may denounce a government, a leader, or even a state, but they cannot challenge the underlying assumptions of the order that grants them legitimacy.

Some will object that Pillay’s Commission attributes responsibility to Israel as a state, not merely to its leaders, which contradicts the idea of a purely personalised operation. The second point concerns the reaction. Netanyahu accused the Committee of having lost its moral compass; the Israeli Foreign Ministry spoke of a grotesque exploitation of the prize; and Washington announced sanctions against the ICC just a few hours after the announcement. All true. But it would make sense and have value if the Western system were not rotten to its very core, if its legal system were functioning properly, but this is not the case, in any respect (and we have already seen sufficient evidence of this – let us not forget the Epstein case either).

If, over the next twelve months, Netanyahu’s political downfall is presented as the conclusion of the case, rather than as a stage in proceedings concerning the state, ‘Pal-washing’ will gain traction. If the proceedings continue beyond his person, and if the State Parties execute the warrants, perhaps it will lose ground. Given the current evidence, the argument is plausible and, until proven otherwise, this is yet another ‘Non-Peace’ Nobel Prize – one we cannot call ‘war’.

The prime minister tells MPs the next summit with the EU will be held on 20 November

Burnham to urge MPs to embrace closer ties with EU

Zia Yusuf, Reform UK’s home affairs spokesperson, is speaking now. He started his speech with an account of a 73-year-old woman dying in North Wales after having to wait 23 hours for an ambulance, and he sought to link this to immigration.

He said:

The Royal College of Emergency Medicine estimates that 15,000 people across Britain died last year due to excess wait times for emergency treatment. That’s 300 people a week, 300 lives destroyed, 300 families devastated.

And that number has increased tenfold over the last decade. This is a moral outrage, and it is a direct result of decisions made by Tory and Labour governments.

I don’t think that’s because he wants to have a fight over the European Union. I think that’s because he knows what we’re talking about today impacts hard in what is known as the red wall.

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© Photograph: House of Commons/UK Parliament/PA

© Photograph: House of Commons/UK Parliament/PA

© Photograph: House of Commons/UK Parliament/PA